The Return
by KeeLoth
Summary: Sora and Riku finally return home and have to readapt to their old lives, but after battling Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization XIII, will it be as easy as they think to return to their normal everyday lives? SxK
1. Chapter 1

He slowly looked around the room, for what he knew was going to be the last time. There were a lot of memories here, good and bad.

He knew this day was coming… he had known for a long time, yet somehow it never felt like it was going to come… and now that it was here, it felt too soon.

"Robby… are you sure…?" he started to ask, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, you and I both know this has to be done," Robby paused. "We have known for a while this day was coming."

"I know, but… can't you come back another time? Does it have to be done now?" he asked, not wanting to say goodbye to one of his closest friends.

"The Guardians are going to protect the pieces; I have to be here when the door is sealed. I have to make sure no one takes any of the pieces of the Cornerstone of Darkness and its pedestal or everything we've worked for will be for nothing," Robby answered.

He sighed, "I know."

"Master Zohar, are you ready?" someone from outside the room called.

He hesitated, "I'll be a there in a few minutes, you should tell the others to start wrapping up," Zohar answered, briefly turning to the open doorway behind him.

"They already have, sir," the person replied.

Zohar sighed, slowly turning back to Robby.

"You should go, there's no use for you to be locked in here with me," Robby pointed out, but Zohar could tell Robby didn't want to say goodbye either.

Zohar slowly and reluctantly nodded. "Good luck," he paused, "...and goodbye, old friend," he said, before slowly turning and heading for the door.

"Goodbye," Robby replied a hint of sadness in his voice.

Zohar stopped at the doorway and turned one last time to the room that had seen one too many battles. He tried to ignore the Pedestal of Darkness and the ill-boding feeling that enveloped the very air and pulled at his heart to give into its tempting call. Tearing his gaze away from the pedestal, he looked back to Robby, the last line of defense to make sure that no one could ever use the Cornerstone of Darkness for destructive means again. He watched in silence as Robby knelt down on his right knee, his sword pressed slightly into the once pristine floor, waiting for whatever the future may hold.

Knowing there was nothing left to say, nothing he could do to postpone the inevitable, Zohar reluctantly turned and left the room.

* * *

Sora reached into his pocket and pulled out the lucky charm Kairi gave him, so long ago in the secret cavern on Traverse Town.

Sora slowly looked up at Kairi's smiling face and wiped the water away from his eye with his free hand, "W…we're back," Sora said, smiling at her, as excitement and disbelief swirled through him. The reality of making it home finally sinking in.

"You're home," Kairi replied, her eyes glistening with joy as she reached her hand out to him.

Sora's smile widened before slapping his hand into hers. "I believe that's yours," he said, climbing to his feet as he let go of her hand leaving the lucky charm in hers, fulfilling his heartfelt promise to bring it back to her.

Kairi looked down at the lucky charm, her smile growing slightly, before turning back to Sora, and to Sora's surprise, giving him a tight hug. "When the portal closed… I thought I wasn't ever going to see you or Riku again."

Sora slowly and hesitantly put his arms around her. "Like a simple thing like being trapped on another world was going to stop us from coming home… we just had some unfinished business with Xemnas, that's all," Sora explained.

Kairi gently pulled away, "Well… you're home now… you both are, that's all that matters," she said, turning to Riku.

Sora followed her gaze just in time to see Riku nod.

_We're finally together again,_ Sora thought, looking at Riku and Kairi, _All of us,_ he added, his gaze shifting to Mickey, who was standing next to Riku, before shooting a grin over his shoulder to Donald and Goofy.

"So… the galaxy's safe now… right?" Sora asked hesitantly, turning back to Mickey.

"Well, we took down the Organization, stopped everyone who was controlling the Heartless… so, yes, I believe it is," Mickey answered.

"Good," Sora replied, with a sigh of relief. "Cause I think it's about time we got a vacation," he commented, turning to Donald and Goofy, who eagerly nodded in agreement.

"You all earned one," Mickey agreed.

Sora smiled, "I bet Daisy's going to be happy," he commented, looking at Donald, remembering that when he first met Daisy, she chased Donald all around the room yelling at him for missing their date again.

"Yup," Goofy agreed, "She's not going to let you out of her sight, when we get back."

Donald folded his arms across his chest, obviously not liking it when they teased him about Daisy, but it only made Sora's smile widen; he didn't like it when they teased him about Kairi, so he thought it was only fair... besides he knew Donald wasn't really upset, he was more embarrassed then anything.

"Well, we should get going," Mickey said.

"Do you… really have to leave, so soon?" Sora asked, his smile fading.

"We all have our families to get back to and friends we haven't seen in a long time," Mickey replied, "but don't worry, we'll be back. Just 'cause there's no more Heartless doesn't mean we can't see each other anymore," Mickey pointed out.

"Yeah," Donald agreed.

Goofy nodded. "You betcha, we'll be back in no time."

"Wait… isn't the Gummi Ship on the World That Never Was? How are you going to leave?" Sora asked.

Mickey reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device. "I used this to call the Gummi Ship, it sends a signal to the ship telling it to come. It landed shortly before you two got here; we were going to go try and find you, but you got here before we had a chance to leave," he answered.

"Oh… cool," Sora replied.

"I guess you actually found a use for that," Riku commented.

Mickey nodded.

"Now, remember Sora, no frowning and sad faces, everyone's safe now," Donald reminded, leaning forward dramatically as he firmly placed his hands on his hips.

"Yup, Donald's right, besides, this isn't goodbye, this is 'til we see you later," Goofy pointed out, patting Donald on the back, causing Donald to squawk in surprise.

Sora couldn't help but smile as he nodded in agreement, he didn't want to say goodbye to Donald or Goofy, they had become two of his closest friends, but they all did have families and friends to get back to… and this wasn't goodbye, not forever anyway.

"Now, Kairi," Donald started, "_Try_ to keep him out of trouble."

Kairi giggled and nodded, "I will."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Sora asked, folding his arms across his chest, pretending to be upset.

"That no matter where we go, you insist on jumping headlong into the biggest and baddest situations possible," Donald pointed out.

"Yeah, well…" Sora started.

"Don't even try and deny it Sora," Riku commented. "You've always jumped headlong into things."

"Yeah, but we saved the galaxy twice didn't we?" Sora reminded. "And I wasn't the only one getting us into trouble," he pointed out, looking directly at Donald.

"Wha? What did I do?" Donald asked.

"Well let's see…" Goofy started, "almost changed the past, got us sucked into that computer… and uh…"

"Crashed the Gummi Ship…" Sora added.

"That was you!" Donald reminded.

"If you had just…" Sora started.

"You both crashed it," Goofy interrupted.

Sora smiled, "You're probably right," he commented, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Now Riku, Sora, Kairi, 'till we meet again," Mickey said.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi nodded.

"'till we meet again," Sora said, before leaning closer to Donald and Goofy. "Try to keep an eye on The King, he seems to have a knack for taking off and disappearing," Sora commented with a slight smile.

Donald and Goofy laughed and nodded, before following The King to the other side of the Island, where the Gummi ship had landed.

Sora watched as they closed the wooden door, separating one side of the Island from the other, behind them.

"Sucked into… a computer?" Riku repeated, stepping closer to Sora and Kairi.

Sora smiled, "Long story."

"I bet," Riku replied.

Sora took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh saltwater air. "Feels like forever since we've been here," he commented.

"Yeah," Riku agreed, just as the Gummi Ship appeared from the other side of the island heading out into the sky.

They watched the ship as it got smaller and smaller until it was so far away they couldn't see it anymore.

"I wonder how our families are doing…" Sora commented, still looking up at the sky. _I wonder how Mom and Miyu are…_ Sora smiled, _I wonder if Miyu ever outgrew her pink bow thing… _he thought, an image of his little sister came to mind; her waist length brown hair, white short sleeveless dress, with a pink sash tied into a bow around her waist, pink bow in her hair, and a pink ribbon tied into a bow on both of her wrists. _Probably not…_ he concluded. _She really liked those pink bows._

He never realized how much he missed them; they were always safe, so he never had to worry about them, but now that he was home, the need to see them seemed to grow by the minute. _But what am I going to tell them?_ Sora wondered, as a hint of nervousness washed through him. _Would they even believe me if I told them the truth?_

"They'll be thrilled to see you two," Kairi commented, jogging Sora out of his thoughts.

"And they're not going to be happy to see you?" Riku replied, in a kidding tone.

"Of course they will; what I meant was that I've only been gone for a couple of months… you've been gone for about a year and a half," Kairi explained.

"… It's been two years," Riku corrected.

"Huh?" Sora asked. "A year and a half, _maybe_… but two years? It couldn't have been that long."

"The worlds went eclipse…" Riku realized. "When the worlds went eclipse time stopped. It's only been a year and a half here."

Kairi nodded.

"But why don't I remember two years?" Sora asked.

"Remember that chamber you woke up in?" Riku asked.

Sora nodded, "Yeah." _What does that have to do with it?_ He wondered.

"It was a stasis chamber, you were asleep for a year," Riku answered.

Sora's eyes widened, "A…year? I knew it had been a while but… well it does explain a few things…" he commented, remembering that his cloths were strangely small when he had woken up in that chamber. "How did I get there anyway? And why was I in it?"

"Uh… well…" Riku started. "The Organization used Naminé to rewrite your memories, it took her a year to get them back to normal."

"My… _**memories**_? Why?…"

"To use you as their puppet, but you stopped them and saved Naminé before it was too late," Riku answered.

"Why don't I remember any of this?" Sora asked, not remembering anything in-between chasing after Pluto down that long dirt path and waking up in that stasis chamber.

"Because, in order to get your old memories back, you had to lose the new ones," Riku answered.

Sora slowly nodded, "How do you know all this?"

Riku hesitated. "Because I was in the same castle, a few floors below you. I didn't know what was going on until it was too late," he answered, before quickly changing the subject. "…We should get going, start heading home," he pointed out, before heading toward the dock.

Sora nodded, he was anxious to get home and see his family again… they could always talk more later.

* * *

Riku and Sora walked down the quiet street, they had already walked Kairi home and were about halfway to Sora's.

The adrenalin from their fight with Xemnas was starting to wear off and Riku's lower back where Xemnas had wacked him was starting to bother him, but he ignored it… he had gotten good at doing that.

"Quiet," Sora commented.

Riku nodded, "It's nice," he said, looking around. _Not a Heartless, Nobody, or any other type of monster in sight._

"Yeah, but weird," Sora replied.

Riku nodded in agreement.

"You think your parents will be home?" Sora asked, glancing briefly over at Riku.

Riku shrugged, "Doubt it," he replied. "But, maybe by the time they get there I'll have an explanation."

Sora sighed, "I have no idea what I'm going to say to my mom," he said. "How do I explain about other worlds, Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization XIII… without her either thinking I'm nuts or giving her a heart attack?" Sora wondered aloud.

Riku shook his head, "If you figure that one out let me know," he replied. He paused, "My guess is to tell the truth, but leave out anything that has to do with other worlds, Heartless, Nobodies, or Organization XIII."

"And how do you do that?" Sora asked. "Everything we've been doing has to do with them."

Riku shrugged, "that's the problem."

Sora nodded. "What are you looking forward to the most?"

"Um…" Riku's mind went blank. "I… I don't know," he replied. "You?"

"Seeing everyone; my mom, sis, Tidus, Wakka, Selphie."

Riku nodded, "It will be nice to see everyone again," he replied, but the more he thought about it the more nervous he got.

_What am I going to tell them? All I know is that I can't tell them how I gave into the darkness… how I let them manipulate me… use me_.

"Well… this is my street," Sora said, stopping at the corner, jogging Riku out of his darkening thoughts. "You sure you don't want to come? I mean if your parents aren't going to be there…?"

"Na, it's ok. Two parents are enough to deal with, I don't need to explain it to three," he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets and briefly looking away.

Sora nodded, "Ok, good luck."

"You too," Riku replied, before slowly continuing down the street.

The closer he got to his street the bigger the knot in his stomach seemed to grow. He had no idea what he was going to say to them… or how he was even going to face them. He wasn't ready for this… any of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Kairi bounded up the few small steps leading to the front door of her home. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm her growing nerves. She took her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door.

"Mom? Dad?" Kairi called, as she stepped through the doorway.

Kairi heard something crash onto the floor in the kitchen.

"Kairi?" she heard her parents say in obvious surprise.

Kairi couldn't help but smile as she quickly headed past the stairs and into the living room. As she walked toward the kitchen, her parents came out. The first one she saw was her dad; Kairi's smile widened, as she ran up to him giving him a hug.

Her dad quickly wrapped his arms around her tightly. "Kairi," he said, slowly letting her go.

"Hi Dad," Kairi replied, still smiling, before turning to her mom and giving her a tight hug as well.

"What happened? Where did you disappear to?" her mom asked, as she let go of her. "We were worried sick about you."

"I had to find out what happened to Sora and Riku," Kairi replied. "When they didn't come back, I got worried," she explained, knowing that they would understand.

"I understand that you were worried about them, but you should have at least called first, we had no idea what happened to you," her mom said

"I'm sorry," Kairi replied, "It just happened; if I didn't leave right then and there I wouldn't have gotten another chance."

Her mom sighed and nodded, "Did you find out what happened to them?" she asked.

Kairi nodded. "They're home too now," she answered.

Because she had originally been from Hollow Bastion and had arrived in that strange meteor shower, her parents already knew about other worlds and had known for a long time. "It took a while but we finally met up."

"You didn't go near any of those Heartless creatures, did you?" her dad asked with concern. She had explained about them and Keyblade Masters last time she came back.

"Dad…" Kairi started. "I'm fine and Riku actually gave me a Keyblade so I could protect myself."

"I still don't want you anywhere near those creatures," her dad stated.

"That would be why Sora and Riku spent the last year and a half trying to get rid of them," Kairi replied.

"Did they?" her mom asked.

"I think so," Kairi replied.

"So… you have a Keyblade now?" her mom asked.

Kairi smiled and stretched out her hand, her gold Keyblade with a pink, purple, and a yellow flower on it flashing into her hand. "It doesn't unlock anything like Sora's, Riku's, and King Mickey's, but it still fights the Heartless pretty well," Kairi said.

Her parents' eyes widened.

Kairi put away the Keyblade and folded her arms behind her back, "Anyway…" she said, realizing that was probably not what they wanted to hear. "We finally met up on The World That Never Was and _they_ took down the bad guys and then we came here."

"The… World That Never Was?" her dad repeated.

"Yeah… well, that's what it was called… and there was a castle there called Castle That Never Was so… I'm guessing they were going with a theme," Kairi commented.

"Why were you on the same world as the bad guys?" her dad asked.

"Um… I was looking for Sora and Riku," she replied, she thought it would be for the best not to tell them that she was kidnapped… a couple of times, it would just make them worry needlessly. "So… um, what did you drop in the kitchen?" Kairi asked, remembering that she heard something crash to the floor.

"Oh… we were doing the dishes," her mom started, with a smile, "and butterfingers here dropped a plate when we heard you," she said, giving Kairi's dad a nudge.

"It was wet and slippery," her dad explained.

Kairi couldn't help but smile, her dad had never dropped a single plate or anything for that matter for as long as she could remember… and if anything he had sticky fingers, because no matter how hard her mom tried, she could never pry the remote control from his hand.

* * *

Sora slowly stepped up to the familiar house; it had the same stone path, the same wooden door, and even the same two bushes on opposite sides of the door.

He had missed a year and a half of their lives, were they going to be the same as he remembered? or would they have changed? He had left a fourteen year old ambitious boy and came back he was a fifteen year old warrior… how would they have changed?

Sora slowly walked up to the wooden door, he took a deep breath trying to settle his growing nerves.

_Here goes nothing,_ he thought, as he knocked on the door. He had lost his keys somewhere in-between Traverse Town and being turned into a Heartless, but somehow he thought that losing his keys would be the last thing on his mom's mind right now.

"Coming," he heard his mom say.

The knot in his stomach seemed to leap into his throat at the sound of his mom's voice._ Why am I so nervous?_ He wondered_. I've taken down monsters in a blink on an eye, why does seeing my mom and Miyu make me so nervous?_

Just then the door started to open.

"Hey Mom," Sora said, with a smile, as soon as he could see her face.

His mom's eyes widened in surprise and she quickly flung the door open and grabbed him, giving him a tight hug.

Normally Sora would have been embarrassed and immediately pulled away, but he was glad to see her… he was glad to be finally home. "Hey Mom," Sora repeated.

"Sora, where have you been?" she asked, as she let him go, but kept her hands on his shoulders as if she was afraid that if she let go he would disappear.

"Um…" Sora stammered as his mind went blank. "Um… well… around… moved around a lot."

"Why? Why didn't you come home?" his mom asked.

"I couldn't exactly come back…" Sora started.

His mom's eyes widened, "What happened?"

"I just…had to find Riku and Kairi," Sora answered.

"What happened that night? One minute you're in your room and the next you're gone… We found your boat and wooden sword on the Island, why did you go there? And _what _happened?" his mom questioned.

"Um… well… There was a storm… I wanted to check on the raft Kairi, Riku, and I were making… and then I couldn't find them so I had to look for them…" Sora answered.

"You don't go wandering out in the middle of the night and least of all when it's thundering and lightning out! What were you thinking?"

"It wasn't that late… it was like six," Sora pointed out.

"I don't care, it was thundering and lightning out and you just disappeared, I didn't know whether you were kidnapped, ran away, or… don't you _ever _do that again," she said. "Why didn't you come home?"

"I…" Sora had no idea what to say. _I had to stop the bad guys from destroying the galaxy or there wouldn't be a home to go back to… And I couldn't exactly leave Riku and Kairi out there in trouble… _"I… I had to find them," Sora finally answered.

"Why? Why you? Why didn't you come home so we could tell the police whatever you knew, so they could find them?... and Kairi didn't go missing until a couple of months ago," she pointed out

"Wha?..." _Oh yeah, worlds eclipse, time stopped,_ Sora inwardly sighed. "Um… well when she went missing we… I had to find her," he quickly corrected.

"Why you? Why didn't you just go to the police?" his mom asked.

"W…I… the police didn't find them, they didn't find any of us and if I didn't look for them they might still be out there," Sora replied, starting to get defensive.

"_What_ happened that night?" his mom asked.

"I already told you, there was a storm…"

"No, what happened on the Island? How did you even get off the Island? Both your and Riku's boats were still docked there," his mom pointed out.

"Um… it's… complicated," Sora replied, hoping, however unlikely, that that would be enough to get her to stop asking questions.

"What happened? You've been gone for a year and a half; you don't get to say 'it's complicated'."

_Great,_ Sora thought. "Honestly I don't know," he replied, and he honestly didn't, one minute he was on the Island and the next he was in Traverse Town. "One minute I'm on the Island and the next I wake up in a completely different town."

His mom's eyes widened, then softened, "Where?" she asked.

"A town I never heard of before… Traverse Town… it's pretty far away," Sora answered. "Can we sit down?" he asked, wanting to get out of the doorway.

"Uh… yeah" she replied, apparently just realizing that they were still standing in the doorway, then reluctantly let go of his shoulders.

Sora walked over to, then plopped down onto the familiar brown couch as his mom closed the front door.

He looked around the room, it had the same bookcase in the corner, the same TV opposite the couch, the same coffee table, even the same stereo under the same picture on the same wall that lead to the kitchen. _Not much has changed,_ he thought, as his mom headed over to the couch and sat down next to him.

"So… Mom, what's been going on while I was gone? How are you? how's Miyu?" Sora asked, wanting to know what has happened in the last year and a half… and wanting very much to change the subject.

"Um…" his mom started, obviously not wanting to change the subject, but was willing to answer a few question before going back. "We're doing good… Miyu is doing great… misses you… she's been getting wrapped up in school stuff and her friend Chiyo lately…" his mom answered, clearly not sure were to begin.

Sora nodded, Miyu and Chiyo had been best friends almost as long as he and Riku have. "So, I'm guessing they got over that fight they had," he commented, with a smile.

"Fight?" his mom frowned, clearly trying to remember what he was talking about. "Oh! About the boy they both liked… uh, what's his name?..." she replied, getting lost in thought.

Sora shrugged, he didn't remember, he didn't know if Miyu ever told him. All he knew was that she and Chiyo weren't talking for some reason.

"Well, anyway, the boy ended up liking someone else and they agreed to never let a boy come between their friendship again," his mom replied.

Sora nodded, "seems to be working," he replied.

His mom nodded.

"Where is Miyu anyway?" Sora asked.

"She should be finishing up school soon," his mom answered, briefly looking down at her watch.

_Oh yeah… school,_ Sora thought, realizing that he was probably going to have to go now that he was back. _Great… hours and hours of… sitting… in one place… listening to a teacher… talk._ Sora inwardly groaned, after going from world to world and pretty much not sitting still for longer then five minutes, the idea of sitting in a class room never sounded more boring in his life.

* * *

Riku stared at the large house across the street… his house. The driveway was empty, neither his dad's nor his mom's car was parked there, meaning no one was home.

He had gotten here over an hour ago, but couldn't bring himself to go in… or even cross the street, so he was sitting on the sidewalk, just staring at a home he hadn't seen in two years… a home he thought he would never see again.

Riku sighed, _this is ridiculous! I'm not gonna just sit here! I'm going in_, he determined, getting up and crossing the quiet street.

He walked up to the two story large house and up to the white door. He took a deep breath and reached for the doorknob, but the door wouldn't open, it was locked and he didn't have his keys. _Great,_ he thought.

Riku shook his head, _I'm not waiting out here all night… I'm going in,_ he thought, before looking around making sure no one was around, then stretched out his hand, his Keyblade immediately appearing in it. He aimed it at the doorknob and a beam of light shot from the Keyblade and into the keyhole. After hearing a short click, he put his Keyblade away and opened the now unlocked door.

Riku slowly stepped into the foyer quickly closing the door behind him. It was a nice size room with a round table in the center of it, which they always used to toss miscellaneous papers and other small objects onto it, to be put away later. The table was unusually bare.

There were three archways leading to different parts of the house, the one to the left lead to a hallway, the one in the middle lead to a sitting room/study, and the one to the right lead to the staircase.

Riku headed left. He briefly glanced into the kitchen as he walked by, continuing down the hall just looking around. His mom had rearranged again, which didn't surprise him, but what he did find odd was that the house felt empty… like something was missing, but he couldn't figure out what.

As he continued to look around the ache in his back started to worsen. He sighed, realizing he should probably sit down.

_Well the study's a good spot I guess… close enough to hear them when they get home and it has a nice big comfy chair,_ Riku reasoned, turning around and heading back the way he came.

_Why does this place feel empty?_ he wondered, looking around as he continued down the hall. All the pictures were in place and everything seemed to be in order, but since his mom rearranged he couldn't really tell if something was missing. _What's missing? _He wondered, as he stepped into the foyer. _I don't know,_ he thought, suddenly feeling tired, as he stepped into the study. He couldn't remember the last time he had a decent night's sleep… or slept for that matter, he had been staying up on Ethers for about a week now and his body was starting to demand its needed rest.

Riku plopped down into the big royal red comfy armchair and ignored the complaint from his back. He glanced up at the clock on the mantle of the fireplace, he sighed, _they're not going to be home for a couple of hours,_ he realized_. I guess I'll just have to wait._ He reasoned.

* * *

"So what's Traverse Town like?" Sora's mom asked.

Sora inwardly sighed, _I knew it wouldn't last,_ he thought, knowing eventually his mom was going to change the subject back. "It's nice… I met alot of nice people," Sora replied, _although they all moved…and who knows who's there now._

Just then he heard a key in the front door, so he turned to see who it was.

"Hey Mom, sorry I'm late, Chiyo…" Miyu trailed off as her eyes fell on Sora.

Sora smiled as Miyu's eyes widened. It was the same little sister, just older then he was used to and her once waist-length brown hair was now cut above her shoulders, the two things combined threw him a little at first.

"Sora?" Miyu said in shock, as her school bag slipped from her fingers and onto the floor.

Sora nodded, his smile widening at her obvious shock.

"W… when did you get here?" Miyu asked, looking briefly at their mom, as she stepped closer.

"A little while ago," Sora replied. "I heard you missed me," he commented in a teasing tone.

Miyu smiled, "As if," she replied, giving him her best 'are you kidding me?' expression.

Sora smiled, knowing full well that 'as if' combined with that expression equaled 'of course I did!'.

"So… what… how did you… where did you go?" Miyu asked.

Sora inwardly groaned, _here we go again_, he thought. "Uh… well…" Sora started, he really didn't want to repeat everything he just told his mom, but it didn't look like he had a choice. "Well there was a storm…" he started, figuring just repeat everything and hope for the best.

* * *

Riku's eyes kept drifting closed as his eyelids became heavier and heavier until the room around him was nothing more then a blurry haze.

Riku surrendered to the tempting call of sleep as his eyes finally closed. The rest of his body started to follow as he drifted into sleep, barely registering that there was a voice outside the front door.

Riku was too far into sleep, that the fact that the door was kicked open and an armed figure entered the house didn't register; but when the figure entered the room, Riku's eyes shot open, immediately sensing their presence. He instantly sprang up and spun around to face the intruder. Still being a little foggy from just waking up, the first and only thing that registered was that he had a gun and it was aimed at him. In two quick and swift motions Riku disarmed the intruder, grabbed his arm and held it tightly behind his back.

One thing that had been forever ingrained into him was that when you are awakened by an armed unknown figure, it's best to disarm them and defend yourself and ask questions later.

"Who are you?" Riku demanded.

"Freeze! Police!" a voice behind Riku ordered.

Riku atomically turned in the direction of the voice, forcing the man he held to turn with him, and indeed the man who had spoken was a police officer. Riku turned to his captive, the bullet proof vest and police uniform finally sunk in. Riku immediately let go of him and took a step back.

"Put your hands above your head!" the officer in the doorway ordered, aiming his gun at Riku.

"Wh…" Riku started to ask.

"Now!" he demanded.

Riku raised his hands. "I'm not gonna hurt you… I just want to know what's going on."

"You're under arrest that's what," he replied.

"For _**what**_?" Riku asked.

"Cuff him, Biggs" he said to his partner.

"What?" Riku said, backing up a little. "Why? I didn't do anything!"

"Tell that to who ever lives here… and the ten other homes you've broken into… and the innocent people you've sent to the hospital," the officer with the gun replied.

"What? You… you have the wrong guy… I didn't break in here; I _live_ here!"

"Sure you do," Biggs commented, stepping closer with a pair of handcuffs.

"I didn't break in here! And I didn't hurt those people!" Riku insisted.

Biggs stepped closer and slapped one side of the cold steel handcuffs on his right wrist. Riku immediately yanked his arm away pulling the handcuff right out of Biggs's hands.

"Freeze! Don't move!" the officer with the gun ordered, taking a step closer still aiming his gun aggressively at Riku.

"I didn't do anything!" Riku insisted, but knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with them… especially since they seemed to think he was going to attack them and that he was some robber that was dangerous. Riku sighed and rolled his eyes, he took a step closer to Biggs and put his hands out in front of him. He figured it's better to cooperate then to resist and create another boatload of problems.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, you don't know how you got there?" Miyu asked.

Sora shook his head.

"How did you eventually find Riku and Kairi?" Miyu asked.

"W… I just… um…. Actually, Riku found us… a couple of times… We kept getting separated," Sora explained with a slight laugh. "And we just eventually tracked down Kairi."

Their mom frowned, "Who's 'us' and 'we'? did you run into Kairi or Riku first?" she asked.

"Uh…." Sora stammered. "Well, um… I actually ran into Riku and Kairi around the same time… I had met these two friends… Donald and Goofy, who were looking for their…friend… so we were looking together," Sora explained, stumbling over his words. _I've really got to be more careful how I word things._

"Oh… did you find their friend?" their mom asked.

Sora nodded. _Can we please talk about something else now?_ he hoped, not wanting to talk about it anymore. He was afraid that he was going to accidentally say something that would have a chain reaction leading right into other worlds, Heartless, Nobodies, and Organization XIII.

"Where are Donald and Goofy now?" their mom asked.

"Home," Sora answered.

"Traverse Town?" she asked.

Sora shook his head, "No, but it's far away too."

"Where?"

"Uh…" Sora hesitated. "Disney…" he stopped himself. He didn't know how they would react if he told them that they lived in a castle; so for now, it was just going to be called Disney instead of Disney Castle.

"Never heard of it," their mom commented.

Sora shrugged, "It's pretty far away," he replied.

Miyu gave him a curious and unbelieving look, but remained silent.

_Can we please change the subject now?_ Sora complained to himself.

His mom noticing his growing discomfort, decided moved to another subject… dinner. "Miyu, why don't you go upstairs and get changed out of that school uniform, then we'll go out and grab some dinner," their mom suggested

Miyu nodded, "Ok," she replied, before heading for the stairs.

"So… where are we going?" Sora asked, wanting to stay off the other subject.

Just as his mom was about to answer, there was a knock on the door.

Sora turned in the direction of the door. _Who could that be?_ he wondered, as his mom got up, went over to the door, and opened it

"Ren!" his mom said in surprise.

_Ren? Who's Ren?_ Sora wondered, not remembering anyone by that name.

"I completely forgot!" his mom added, opening the door all the way. "Um… Ren this is… this is Sora," she said, gesturing to him.

"Hi," Sora said with a smile, still wondering who this guy was.

The man looked at him in surprise. "Hi."

"Sora, this is Ren, he's…" she stammered.

"A friend," Ren finished her sentence for her.

"Um… Sora, we'll be… um… I've just got to… we'll be a minute," his mom said, gesturing to the kitchen, before they both disappeared through the doorway.

_Who is that guy?_ Sora wondered.

"When did he get back?" Sora heard Ren ask.

Sora smiled, _They should have picked a room further away if they didn't want me to hear them… _he thought.

"A couple of hours ago," his mom replied.

"Do you know what happened? Why he left?" Ren asked.

"He… he's talking about towns I've never heard of… he's being very vague. I don't…" she paused, "he says he doesn't even know how he got off the Island. And he does not want to talk about it. I don't know what to do… he's been gone for a year and a half… I… I don't want to push him but…"

"Who was at the door?" Miyu asked, coming down the stairs.

"Some gu…" Sora started, turning in her direction, but trailed off when he saw her, she had _definitely_ out grown her pink bow phase. Instead of the white dress and pink bows, she had on a black and blue spaghetti strap shirt that was tucked into dark-blue jeans, she had a double chain necklace, double chain belt and a chain around her right wrist.

"What?" Miyu asked, noticing his surprised stare.

"Uh… nothing… you just look… different," he replied. "I guess you outgrew your pink bow thing, huh?"

Miyu smiled, "Yeah, like a year ago," she replied, walking over to the couch and sitting down next to him. "So… who was at the door?... and where's Mom?"

"Some guy named Ren, and they're in the kitchen," he answered.

"Oh…" Miyu replied.

"Who is he?" Sora asked.

"Um… well… um… maybe Mom should tell you…" Miyu stammered.

"Miyu… _who_ is he?" Sora repeated.

"I really think Mom should tell you…" Miyu commented.

"_Miyu_."

"Mom should reeeallly be the one to tell you," Miyu insisted.

Sora gave her a slightly annoyed look.

Just then their mom and Ren came out of the kitchen.

"I've gotta run, but it was nice meeting you, Sora," Ren said, with a genuine smile.

Sora nodded, "You too," he replied. _Who is he?_ He didn't like not knowing things, especially things everyone else seemed to know.

"I'll call you later," Ren said to his mom, before heading for the door and leaving.

Sora turned to his mom, "So… who is he?"

"A friend," his mom answered,

"But who is he?" Sora repeated.

"_Sora,_" his mom said in a tone that meant drop it, she was apparently not in the mood to talk about it. "Let's go get some food."

"Fine," he replied._ But, I'm gonna figure it out_.

* * *

"Sit," Biggs ordered Riku, referring to an empty bench near the doorway inside the police station.

Riku sat down and watched as Biggs's partner walked away; Riku guessed he was going to talk to someone in charge or someone who would tell them what to do with him, what room or cell to take him to.

Riku sighed and looked down at the handcuffs; they were starting to bother the deep cut under the bandage on his left arm/wrist.

"Don't even think about it," Biggs warned him.

"I wasn't," Riku replied, not even bothering to look up. _And this was starting to look like it might actually turn into a good day, _Riku inwardly complained, resting his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands; his body was achy and exhausted, his arm was irritated, and his back was sore...but what really bugged him was that he got arrested for going home.

Riku leaned back resting his head on the wall behind him and closed his eyes. All he wanted was to relax, to stop looking over his shoulder every five seconds, to not worry about what's around the corner… to just… relax.

Riku sighed turning back to Biggs, "you woke me up."

"Huh?" Biggs replied, with a slightly confused look.

"Before, that's why I attacked you. I had been sleeping and when I saw you, the only thing that registered was that you had a gun and it was aimed at me," Riku explained. "I wouldn't have attacked you if I had known who you were. And if I really were this other guy, would I have been so quick to let you go?" Riku asked.

Just then the other officer came over, "Ok, we're supposed to take him to…"

Biggs pulled the other officer aside. "Wedge, I'm starting to think we have the wrong guy…" Riku heard him say quietly to the other officer.

Riku suppressed a smile, _good hearing is a very handy thing to have,_ he thought.

"Are you nuts? That guy attacked you! And you know the description of The Ghost, long white hair, do you have any idea how rare white hair is?"

"Yeah but… what if he isn't The Ghost?"

"And a neighbor saw someone fitting his description break into the house."

_That explains why the police were there,_ Riku thought.

"Either way he broke into that house, now come on," Wedge stated, before walking over to Riku. "Come on, let's go."

Riku slowly turned in his direction, before getting up.

"This way," he said, before they both ushered Riku to the other end of the main room.

Just as they were about to leave the room and head into the hallway, Riku heard a familiar voice… a voice he hadn't heard in two years. Riku stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned in the direction of the voice; at the other end of the room, by the front desk, there he was, a man he thought would never see again.

"Dad?" Riku said in surprise his voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey, let's go," Wedge urged, sounding rather annoyed.

"That man, the one by the front desk, did you call him in here? Because of the break-in?" Riku asked.

"Why?" Wedge asked still sounding annoyed.

"Because that man… is my father," Riku replied.

"_Sure_ he is."

"All you need to do is ask him."

"You mean to tell me that you're Yori's son? That guy owns and runs Y&A Enterprises…" Wedge objected.

"I know," Riku replied.

"There is no way you're his son," Wedge commented.

"Prove it, ask him," Riku urged.

Wedge shook his head, "first we get you into holding… then we'll look into it," he answered.

"I'll ask," Biggs said.

"We've got to get him to…"

"It'll take like two seconds, I'll be right back," Biggs reassured, before heading over to the front desk.

This wasn't exactly the reunion he had hoped for, but it was better then spending who knows how long here.

"Excuse me," Biggs said to Riku's dad. "I just need to ask you a few questions regarding that man over there? Do you recognize him?" he asked, pointing to Riku.

Riku's dad turned to Riku and his eyes widened in obvious surprise. "Riku?" he asked, "W… How… When did you find him?" his dad asked.

"Excuse me? Find… him…?" Biggs asked, but Riku's dad had already started walking over Riku.

"Dad," Riku said, feeling just as happy as he was nervous to see him again.

"Riku," his dad said with relief, before wrapping his arms around him and gave him a tight hug, causing Riku's back to stiffen in pain as he did.

"Where have you been? What happened?" his dad asked, as he let go.

"Uh…" Riku stammered, looking at the two, now somewhat confused, officers "Can we talk about that later?"

"I… take it that this is your son?" Wedge asked.

"Of course," his dad replied.

"See?" Riku commented, to the officers.

His dad gave him a questioning look.

"We had a liiittle misunderstanding," Riku commented, raising his hands slightly, showing him the cuffs. "Can I get these off now?" he asked.

"What's going on? Why do you have handcuffs on?" his dad asked.

"When I went home they thought I broke in and that I was someone called The Ghost," Riku explained.

"What would make you guys think that my _son_ was that… crazy robber?" his dad asked, staring at the two officers.

"As he said it was a misunderstanding," Biggs replied.

"Misunderstanding?… get those handcuffs off my son," his dad said, in his protective and authoritative voice.

Biggs immediately grabbed his keys and uncuffed Riku.

"Can we go home now?" Riku asked, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible.

His dad nodded, "Let go," he said, before they headed for the door.

As soon as they were outside and a couple of feet away from the station his dad stopped "What happened? Where have you been?" he asked.

"I…" Riku hesitated, as he stopped and turned to face him, he had no idea what to say. "I've… been around," he replied, knowing full well his dad was not going to like that answer.

"Around? _Around?_ You've been gone a year and a half and all you can say is 'around'?" his dad asked. "Where have you been? What happened?"

"I…" _what am I going to tell him_? He wondered, looking at his father. "I had some things I had to do," Riku replied.

"What 'things'? You're _sixteen_ years old you were _fifteen _when you left, what could you possibly have to do that would take a _year _and a half?" his dad asked.

Riku shook his head, "Nothing I say is going to be good enough for you," he commented.

"What? Why would you th…" his dad started.

"Dad… can we please not talk about this right now?" Riku asked.

"You've been gone a year and a half, Riku…"

"Don't you think I know that?" Riku asked. "This isn't exactly easy for me either," he commented. "Can we please just go home?" Riku asked, he didn't want to talk about this and especially not in the police parking lot.

His dad sighed, "Fine, but we're talking about this later," he informed.

"I know," Riku replied. _I just hope then I'll have answers._


	4. Chapter 4

Sora, his mom, and Miyu all headed for the front door, having just gotten back from dinner. His mom unlocked and opened the door, before they followed her in.

It was nice eating dinner with his family again, they got to talk more about what had been going on while he was gone… which wasn't that much, pretty normal stuff. His mom had gotten a promotion at work, she still had the same friends that worked there although one had moved away and another was married now. Miyu had had the typical school stuff, different couples getting together and others having fights; although one thing happened that Sora couldn't help but smile at, Selphie had tried to match-make her.

"So, who did she tried to set you up with?" Sora asked, as they entered the living room. For as long as he's known Selphie, she was always trying to match-make someone. Poor Tidus and Wakka had been her main projects for years… he had no idea how they managed to stay single.

"Haru, he's a boy in my math and science class," Miyu replied. "His nice and all, but… not really my type," Miyu explained. "Hey, why didn't she ever match-make you?"

Sora shrugged, "Don't know, you'd have to ask her… I'm just glad she hasn't. She was probably just too busy with poor Tidus and Wakka," Sora reasoned

"She ever match make Riku?" Miyu asked curiously.

"Hmm," Sora thought for a moment, "No… I don't think so…"

"You said that Riku and Kairi are back now too, that they came back with you, right?" Miyu asked.

Sora nodded, "Yeah."

"They must be happy to be finally home," their mom commented.

"They are," Sora replied with another nod. "We all are," he added.

Their mom smiled, "You have no idea how good it is to have you back."

Sora smiled, he was glad to be back and he really didn't mean to make them worry as much as they apparently had been, but he wouldn't change any of it. He had made a lot of friends and helped a lot of people and he wouldn't change a single moment of it.

* * *

Riku stepped into the foyer followed by his dad. The ride home had been pretty quiet; he didn't know what to say and was just glad his dad wasn't asking questions. But one thing just dawned on him, his mom's car was still not in the driveway.

Riku turned to his dad, "Where's mom? She working late or something?" he asked.

His dad hesitated, "She's actually… out of town… she's visiting her mom," his dad answered.

Riku slowly nodded, "When does she get back?"

"Well… as soon as she finds out you're home, I'm guessing she'll be on the next flight," his dad replied.

Riku smiled slightly and nodded.

"What was the misunderstanding?" his dad asked. "With the police, why did they think you broke in here?"

"Well… apparently a neighbor saw me come in..."

"Wait a minute, how did you get in? the door was locked… and one thing I remember clearly is that the day you went missing, I found your keys on your desk in your room."

"Well… that would be why they thought I broke in… because technically I did," Riku replied.

"Ah… but why didn't you just explain?" his dad asked.

"I did… but they didn't believe me," Riku replied. "So how's the business going?" he asked, he really didn't want to get into how he disarmed the police officer before realizing who he was.

"Business is good," his dad replied. "Riku… I need to know, what happened?"

"Why?" Riku replied a little sharper then he probably should have.

"Because I need to know what happened," his dad replied.

"Why?" Riku repeated, "It's not like it's gonna change any of it."

"I still need to know," his dad insisted.

"Why?" Riku repeated for the third time.

"Because I'm your father and you've been gone for a year and a half… and I met up with you in a _police_ station! And for some unknown reason they thought you were that crazy robber that has been terrorizing this neighborhood! Now what happened?" his dad asked in a firm tone.

"I fell asleep, when I saw the police officer I thought he was an intruder, I disarmed him before realizing that he was a policeman, ok?" Riku replied in an annoyed and defensive tone.

"How did you disarm a _police_ officer?" his dad asked.

_Very easily,_ Riku thought, but remained silent.

"What happened? What have you been doing?" his dad prodded.

"Why does it matter?" Riku asked.

"What did you do?" his dad accused.

"I didn't _do_ anything," Riku replied.

"Oh? Then why won't you answer me?" his dad asked.

"Because I just got home and the last thing I want to do is talk about where I've been," Riku replied.

"Why? What happened?"

"Dad…"

"I've been worried _sick_ about you! You just disappeared. You didn't take anything with you, your boat was on that Island you like so much, but you weren't anywhere to be seen. I thought you were kidnapped… or worse dead. I had every PI you can think of looking for you! And you just walk back in here and expect that I'm not going to ask questions?"

"No, but I'm home now, can we please just leave it at that?... at least for now?" Riku asked.

His dad sighed, "Fine."

He could tell his dad was not happy about this and that he was probably jumping to all sorts of conclusion that he didn't even want to know about… but didn't care, he couldn't tell him that he gave into the Darkness, that he let Maleficent use and manipulate him… that he attacked his best friend, nearly costing Sora his life. He had made huge mistakes that he could never take back, no matter how much he wanted to.

* * *

Sora and his mom were in the living room watching some TV show that he wasn't really paying attention to, Miyu had gone upstairs to do her homework and get ready for bed at least an hour ago. Sora was starting to feel restless and as much as he was enjoying watching TV he couldn't help but feel the urge to get up and do something.

Sora looked over at his mom, apparently she wasn't paying attention to the TV either, because she was watching him. "Something wrong?" Sora asked, wanting to know why she was watching at him.

She shook her head, "No," she paused, "You've just grown so much," she replied.

Sora just smiled slightly. "So has Miyu."

She nodded, "Time goes by too fast," she commented.

"You can say that again," Sora agreed, _especially if you miss a year…_ he thought.

"Your father would have loved to see you two all grown up."

Sora smiled slightly, but didn't say anything, he wasn't sure what to say; his dad had died when he was eight, Miyu was seven. His dad had worked at Riku's dad's company and had become close friends with Riku's dad, that's how he and Riku first met.

"You and Miyu both have his eyes," she commented. "I remember that that was one of the first things I noticed about him, his amazing big blue eyes," she said, with a smile, obviously heading down memory lane. "I remember when he stayed up for hours the night before your seventh birthday making that wooden boat hanging in your room. You were so thrilled; you went on about it for weeks… you even said you wanted to be a pirate when you grew up."

Sora smiled, wishing he could tell her that he actually met a pirate a _real_ pirate and got to help man the ship and even got to fire the cannon a couple of times… but didn't think she would want to hear why he fired the cannon or why the bunch of cursed pirates were trying to kill them.

"Yeah," Sora finally replied. "I remember that the day before, I caught him working on it, but he wouldn't tell me what it was or what it was for and you had to come in and get me so I would stop bugging him about it."

His mom's smile grew and she nodded. "It sure wasn't easy keeping you out of the there though."

"Yeah… I was pretty determined to find out what Dad was making," Sora replied.

His mom just stared at him for a moment getting lost in thought. "Your father was a good man, he loved you and Miyu very much… he would have done anything for you two," she commented.

"I miss him too," Sora replied, knowing exactly what she was thinking by the sadness in her eyes.

She smiled weakly at him, "I'm just glad we didn't lose you too."

Sora didn't know what to say, he really didn't mean to make her worry. "I would have been back sooner if I could have… things just took longer then I expected," he tried to explain.

"Why didn't you call?" his mom asked.

"Uh…I… um…" Sora stammered. _I was on other worlds and no phone I could get to would actually reach here,_ he thought. "I… couldn't."

"Why not?"

"Well…" Sora nervously rubbed the back of his neck, trying to come up with an answer that wouldn't be a complete lie. "Well, where I was you don't get good reception and one thing led to another… I just… couldn't."

Sora could tell his mom wasn't happy with that answer, but for some reason she wasn't going to push him._ Hmm, seems like ever since that guy Ren came over she hasn't been pushing me to answer as much… wonder why? What did they say in there? And who is he? _Sora wondered, it starting to really bug him.

* * *

Riku headed up the stairs and toward his room, he had told his dad he was tired and was going to head to bed… and he was tired, but his mind was way too active to fall asleep. The main reason he wanted to go to his room was that he wanted to be alone… he needed to be alone. He couldn't stand the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them another minute. His dad wanted answers that he just couldn't give.

Riku slowly opened his bedroom door and stepped in, closing the door behind him. His room was exactly as he left it, right down to the scattered papers and forgotten keys on his desk, even his wooden sword was where he left it, on his dresser next to the door.

Riku smiled slightly at the sword that he used to spar Sora, Tidus, and Wakka with. He picked it up, but it felt weird and awkward to hold. _Guess I've really gotten used to real swords and Keyblades,_ he thought, swinging it back and forth a couple of times. _How did you do it Sora? How did you fight your way through Hollow Bastion with this?_ He wondered. _Shear determination I guess, you always were stubborn,_ he thought, putting it back down.

He walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge. _Why can't he just leave me alone? Why does he have to push? _Riku wondered. _Why does he always have to know everything? _He sighed, flopping down unto the bed.

He had never refused to answer his father before, he never even questioned why he wanted to know something, it was always his father, so he had to answer... but now Riku didn't feel like the kid anymore and he had done too many things without asking questions... just following orders, he wasn't going to do it anymore. He had lost his way, his trust, almost his heart, and nearly his friends, all because he trusted the wrong person, because he didn't ask questions… and even though it was his father, he couldn't give his trust so easily again... never again. And even if he could, he still wouldn't be able to answer; all of his mistakes, all of his failures, all of his misconceptions, and wrong doings, were too fresh and too painful.

* * *

Sora headed to his room with his mom closely behind him. He wasn't tired, but it was a little after midnight and he didn't really want to sit there half-watching TV anymore… and he could tell his mom was getting really tired.

Sora opened the door to his room and flicked on the light. His room was neater then he remembered, considering that when he left there were clothes all over the floor. He looked up at the boat his father had made him.

Sora smiled, stepping closer and running his fingers along the old wood as he turned to his desk noticing his wooden sword that either his mom or Miyu had placed there.

"Miyu found that the day after you disappeared. It was a couple of feet away from the dock just lying in the sand," his mom commented, from the doorway.

Sora picked it up, his smile growing, remembering all the times on the Island where he would spar Riku and the others. He swung it back and forth a couple of times, it felt weird and not as fluid and graceful as his Keyblade. He slowly put it back on his desk, before he looked up and turned to his mom, who was leaning against the doorway.

She looked exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open.

"Good night," Sora finally said, wanting to let her get to sleep. He wasn't at all tired and he had no idea how long he had been up, but he had gotten used to long nights and early mornings.

"Good night," she replied, before reluctantly leaving the room. He could tell she really didn't want to leave him, but she was too tired to stay up any longer.

Sora turned back to his room, looking around again, then it hit him, what was he going to do with all of the things from other worlds in his pockets? He didn't exactly need to carry them with him everywhere he went, but he knew he couldn't leave them lying around either.

Sora looked up, _the boat,_ he thought, _it can hold a good amount and no one would think to look up there,_ he reasoned.

He quickly closed his bedroom door, before sliding the chair from his desk over to the boat. He got up onto the chair, before reaching into his one of his pockets, which could hold an amazing amount of stuff, and pulling out the first thing his hand touched. It was the odd blue crystal he had found in the munny pouch. He placed it into the boat before reaching into his pocket again. He pulled out a handful of protective chains and rings and placed them in too.

The next thing he pulled out was the munny pouch_, hmmm, it might be a bit odd for someone my age without a job to carry around this much munny… _Sora thought, opening the pouch and taking out a more reasonable amount of munny and putting it into his pocket before placing the pouch and the rest of the munny into the boat.

It wasn't long before he had emptied his pockets, except for the munny and one Potion; he knew he probably wouldn't need it, but he wasn't comfortable not carrying at least one Potion with him.

Sora looked at the now almost stuffed boat, _well,_ _just don't fall,_ he thought, before getting down and putting the chair back by his desk.

He didn't like stuffing away everything from his adventures, everything he had gathered over the last… two years, everything his friends had given him, but he didn't see another way… at least not yet.

* * *

"Aina?" Riku's dad said into the phone.

"Huh?" she mumbled, clearly having been just woken up. "Yori?" she said, her voice clearing a little.

"Aina, I need to te…"

"Yori?" she repeated, clearly awake now, "Do you have any idea what time it is?" she asked in annoyance. "It's almost one in the morning! What are you doing calling me at this hour? What's so important it couldn't…"

"Riku's home," he interrupted.

The other end went completely silent. "I'll be on the next flight," she finally replied.

"I already booked it," he said. "It leaves at four, there wasn't anything sooner," he explained. "You should get here around six."

"Is he… what… do you know what happened?" she asked.

"He's fine… he's great. He looks so much older," he commented. "He's… not talking about what happened, I'm not sure why… it's either too traumatic or… Aina, I'm afraid he might have done something… something," he hesitated, "Illegal."

"What? Why?" she asked.

"He's hiding something, something bad, I don't know what, but whatever it is it's not good."

"Maybe he just needs time, it could be nothing," she replied.

"I hope so, I really hope so."


End file.
